Hina Sabatine is planning for a protest against Donald Trump‘s administration in the Los Angeles, which is most likely to take place in this weekend itself but they’re going with a unique strategy which is to leave their phones behind. The protestors stated – “We’re protesting the administration, which is a lot scarier… I’m bringing a burner phone which doesn’t have my Touch ID or my face scan.”
Hina Sabatine is one of the many protestors who is going to join the “No Kings” march, which is mainly organized to counter President Donald Trump’s military birthday parade and eventually reject authoritarianism.
Public Safety Reminder:
DO NOT TAKE AND POST PHOTOS/VIDEOS OF PROTESTERS, YOURSELF INCLUDED.
You’re endangering others and yourself as the authoritarian government can and potentially will seek them/you out.
Take a burner phone unless you’re w/ the press. Seriously. Be Safe!
— I’m a witch and I will hex you 🔮🕯🌿🃏 ☽☾ (@whoopdeedoot) June 14, 2025
Concerning the fact that Sabatine is an immigrant, she is taking no risk, and the least she would do is take an old Android phone with her in a parade that will significantly block signals. “Given that I am an immigrant, I’m just going to do all the extra steps,” she said.
Should you bring your phone to a protest?
It is a fact that phones are an integral part of communication that is also veryuseful during the farades, but it should also be kept in mind that they are surveillance tools too. Anu Joshi from the ACLU said – “What we encourage people to do is just to consider the potential risks.”
Phones are also a way to detect your real-time location. “Even if it’s in airplane mode, there’s a chance that your movements can be tracked,” Joshi said.
BREAKING: This is SO Embarrassing.
US Soldiers are practicing in Washington D.C. for Trump’s Military/Birthday Parade this weekend.
This reminds me of North Korea. How about you? pic.twitter.com/gLoqc6qQSJ
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) June 13, 2025
Lucy Parsons Labs’ Alejandro Ruizesparza stated – “When you move, your phone is connecting to various cell phone towers… the most surefire way of preventing that from happening is turning your phone off.” Ruizesparza said that turning off their phone is the intelligent work here before even leaving home.
Getting tracked isn’t the only concern here, but if arrested, “your phone could be taken from you,” said Bill Budington from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He continued saying – “Forensic extraction devices can reveal private information… especially if they’re being used on an older device or a device that hasn’t had operating system security updates in a while.”
On one hand, Joshi is suggesting to leave the phone inside the car, and Ruizesparza is asking to keep it of during the protest – “This should ideally prevent some level of tracking and the creation of data linking you to these protests.”
If you do bring a phone… turn off Touch ID and Face ID
Several of them will certainly not keep their phone behind, and they have their reasons for the same. In that case, experts recommend turning off biometrics. “As a practical matter, the protection is better, too,” Budington said. “Because… an officer might be able to unlock your device without your consent just by taking your fingerprint and pressing it against the touch ID or showing it to your face.”
For Android 12 and later, it is suggested to turn on the Lockdown mode, and for iPhones, turning off “iPhone Unlock” under Face ID & Passcode can help. “We really encourage people to disable those [biometrics]… to ensure that no one can unlock your phone without your consent,” Joshi said.
